


The Future is the Past is the Future

by GrumpyJenn



Series: Friends Through Time and Space [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-26
Updated: 2012-06-06
Packaged: 2017-11-06 01:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/413082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyJenn/pseuds/GrumpyJenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why *are* there gaps in Jack's memory? And what happens to the Jack Harkness we know and love if his younger self dies before he meets the Doctor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gathering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [areyoumarriedriver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/areyoumarriedriver/gifts), [SnowyAshes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyAshes/gifts), [thesesongsaretrue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesesongsaretrue/gifts), [Amie33](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amie33/gifts), [spoilersweetie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoilersweetie/gifts), [Kerjen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerjen/gifts).



The Doctor was bored.

He acknowledged that this was almost never a good thing. In fact, the only worse thing that came immediately to mind was when he was angry. He slouched in the jump seat and tapped fretfully at the keys on the console, while simultaneously linking with the TARDIS in his mind. _Any ideas, Sexy?_

_(blue-and-brown-boy, my child, another orange girl, blue-and-brown-boy)_

These remarks were not remarks really, or even _words_ as such, more like pictures. No, not really pictures either, that was rubbish, _impressions_ , impressions of Jack Harkness, River Song, Evie Jones, and... Jack Harkness again, but... well, a Jack who felt even younger than he had been when the Doctor had first met him, back in the London Blitz, with Rose. The Doctor sat up slowly.

“This could be tricky.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

“‘Timey wimey’, Doc?” Jack asked, more than a little amused, “Is that a technical term?”

The Doctor was impatient. “Of course not, most humans can’t understand the technical terms for it. River can, but then she’s not entirely human, is she? _You_ can’t understand it, not really. I wonder if Al-- never mind that, it’s rubbish, of course not, eleventh dimensional physics that even _I_ can’t explain, not to someone who lives in only four...” he trailed off and gave Jack a measuring look. “Well, maybe six, Time Agent... right!”

Jack rolled his eyes. He should have known better than to interrupt the Doctor’s train of thought, because once that train was derailed... “So, Doc, what d’you need from me? Not that I would mind going anywhen with you, of course, with or without your other lovely wife--” here Jack sketched a little bow in the direction of the console and received a wash of affection - along with a headache - in return. “--but I would like to know what I’m getting myself into. If you can tell me.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Nope. I just need you, and River, and Evie...” he trailed off as Jack’s blue eyes lit up. “Thought that’d get your attention, and we’re going to be crossing your timeline, Jack, that’s all I know.”

“ _Mine_?” Jack was surprised.

_(agreement, affection)_

“Huh,” said Jack, and shrugged. He clapped the Doctor on the back. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go pick up our ladies...”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“Hello, Sweetie, Jack,” said River Song, and then leaned out the TARDIS doors and took a shot at something outside. “When are we?”

“Rescue at Luna University,” said the Doctor, “For me anyway.”

“Here too,” said Jack. “Want some help with that?”

“Just...about...” River leaned out the door one more time, closed one eye, and fired her disintegrator pistol. There was a squealing sound and she pulled the door shut as she entered the TARDIS. “...Done!”

“Sontarans?” asked the Doctor, “ _Again?_ River, you must stop baiting them.”

“Nope,” she grinned at them both, “Blowfish. More your thing, Jack, yeah?”

The Doctor huffed. “I’ve encountered my share of them,” he muttered, “Pandori... oops. Spoilers.” He grinned at his wife. “You never did say what you’ve done, my River. Jack and I have both done the rescue at Luna University... well, he was the rescu-ee, but still... what?” She was looking at him with that expression of exasperated affection, and a hint of sadness behind her eyes.

“Been there,” River said, striding toward him and blowing Jack a quick kiss on her way by. “Done that.” She reached the Doctor and stood nose to nose with him, and the part of his mind that just _would not shut up_ babbled about how much it liked her in those _heels_ , they made her just the same height as him, and... then it _did_ shut up, because she was kissing him.

 _And kissing him_.

The Doctor didn’t hear Jack clear his throat, but the sound of the TARDIS starting up yanked his attention away from what River was doing to his lips. He looked up, and saw that Jack was laughing, “Yes, well,” he said grumpily, trying to recover his dignity. “We’ll just see how you react when Evie comes on board.” He harrumphed and bent over to check a control on the console, not noticing River smirking at Jack over his head. “Right! Off to Luna University, circa 5130!” He slammed a lever down with unnecessary force and then stroked the console lovingly and murmured, “You and me, Old Girl, and our friends and family, eh?”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“But I’m needed here,” protested Evie. Her mentor smiled at her.

“You _are_ needed here, Evie, and at top of your form, which is why you very much need to take a holiday. You’ve been working double shifts at the clinic since the quake, on top of teaching classes and your own private counselling sessions, and you _need a break_. You’ve plenty of holiday time, and you haven’t been off this moon in... it must be almost a decade.” His voice softened from stern professor to loving mentor and he patted her hand. “Go find yourself a friend or two and get off this rock. Don’t come back for at least a week.” She sighed and he smiled at her again, stepping around his desk to kiss her on the cheek. “Go _on_ , Professor Jones, or you’ll be no good to your patients or your students.” He patted her arse and gave her a friendly little shove toward the door of his new office.

“You have my commcode?” Evie asked anxiously as he propelled her out the door, “In case I’m needed while I’m gone?” Her mentor nodded impatiently and leaned around her to open the door, which was caught by someone on the other side before it could smack him in the face.

A face topped with dark hair peered around the edge of the door, saying, “Professor Siggy, could I borrow Professor Jones for a few da-- oh.” Jack smiled down at Evie. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Evie replied, smiling up at him, and then she gave a little hop and wrapped her arms around his neck, legs around his waist, and fastened her lips to his.

Professor Siggy shook his head, amused. “Time Agents... no such thing as coincidence, I suppose. Go on, young Boe, or Jack. Or whoever you are this week. Take her to her room to pack and get her off this mudball for a week. A _real_ week of durational time. At least. Go on.” He shooed them with his hands and Jack broke the kiss to set Evie back on her feet

“Yessir, Professor, right away sir,” Jack said cheekily, and saluted American style. Then he scooped Evie up again and carried her off giggling to her suite. 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

Several hours later - of real durational time - Jack and Evie walked to the TARDIS, which was perched on the rim of the crater that housed the University. Evie paused as they reached the top and turned around to look at her home spread out before her. “He’s right, you know,” she said softly, “Professor Siggy’s right. I haven’t left this planet in ten years. I’m thirty-one and I have not left this rock for a third of my life. I need to get out more.”

Jack laughed and put an arm around her. “You don’t count the TARDIS as off-planet? I know I do, but then I've travelled farther in her than you have. Come on, let’s get aboard her.” He squeezed her shoulder in a one-armed hug and turned them around to knock on the blue wooden door, which swung open. “Looks like someone’s expecting us.” They climbed in and Evie felt that lovely rush of welcome and affection that the TARDIS sent her each time she came aboard, and she just _basked_ in it. She closed her eyes and let it soak in.

“Who needs a holiday?” Evie asked rhetorically, “When I’ve all of you for friends...” She beamed around the room at them all and bounded over to River to give her a resounding kiss, then paused to pat the console affectionately and kiss the Doctor briefly before retreating to Jack’s side and taking his hand. “Jack didn’t tell me anything,” she said cheerfully, “We were busy. So what’s up?”

“Well,” said River, “it’s a bit complicated. But the gist of it is that we have to save Jack.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Realisation

“We have to save Jack,” Evie said. It wasn’t really a question, and she worked it out aloud, “Jack’s right here,” she kissed him, “safe with us, but this is a time machine and Jack’s been around a long time, so there are probably plenty of points along his... his timeline?” River nodded encouragingly and the Doctor simply _beamed_ at her as she continued, “Where he could probably use a good rescue. Is that right?”

“She’s quite good,” remarked the Doctor to River with a certain pride as he nodded at Evie.

“But why do you need _me_?” Evie asked somewhat plaintively. “I’m a good psychiatrist but I’m nothing special, and I--” she broke off as Jack kissed her, hard. He hated it when she put herself down like that.

“Because you know and understand both Jack and younger-Jack, we think,” said River gently once Jack let Evie go. “We don’t know for sure, but that’s why we think Sexy Thing said you’re needed.” There was a wash of agreement from the TARDIS, and Jack winced as the headache hit him. Nobody else seemed to notice any pain, but Jack thought it was worse than usual.

“Call him ‘Boe’,” Jack said shortly, trying to hide the pain. _What’s wrong with me_ , he wondered, and then a wave of dizziness hit him. “Doc,” he said, careful to not move his head at all, “There’s something wrong... I need to sit down.” He swayed on his feet as his friends began to move, and then he sank to his knees, tiny Evie trying desperately to keep him upright. She shouted his name but the sound seemed to come from a great distance, _so far away,_ he thought fuzzily, _don’t leave me Evie... Evie? Doctor? River? Evie..._ please _don’t leave me alone..._

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

“What the hell is wrong with him, River?” Evie nearly wailed in her distress, “He’s told me - he’s _shown_ me - he doesn’t _get_ sick, he doesn’t get injured or killed without healing it really fast, and I don’t understand!” She wrung her hands, but made a visible effort to control herself when she felt the TARDIS shudder. “Okay,” she said more quietly and almost to herself, “Panic won’t help him and it won’t help me. What can I do, River?”

They were standing on either side of the exam table in the medical bay of the TARDIS, Jack lying between them, as the Doctor coaxed Sexy Thing on her way to wherever-it-was that they had to go. River - _River_ \- had been the one to pick Jack up and carry him to the medical bay, and Evie was astonished; she had had no idea River was so physically strong. Now River was shaking her head and running a medical scanner over Jack and frowning at the results. “Mmm... not sure, Evie,” she said, “These readings are dead-on normal - for Jack - so I don’t think this is a physical issue. We’ll have to get the Doctor in on it and maybe Sexy, I think.”

_(regret, sympathy)_

“Oh, nobody’s blaming you, Sexy,” River assured the ship (although Evie quietly decided to reserve judgment on that point), “But there’s something strange going on here, even by our standards.. Evie...” River hesitated and Evie looked up from Jack’s face. “Can you reach him? Telepathically, I mean. You’ve linked like that before.”

“Yes, we have.” Evie took a deep breath. “Now?” At River’s nod, she kissed Jack gently on the forehead and slid her fingers to his temples, closing her eyes.

 _alone Evie John Doctor Rose River_ Evie _don’t leave me alone_

“Oh...” said Evie in a choked whisper, opening her eyes, “I’d thought he was over that fear of being left alone. Oh my poor Jack.” She looked at River, who nodded.

“I thought so too,” River agreed, “so perhaps something triggered this. Go deeper, Evie; Jack won’t mind. He trusts you.”

Evie nodded and closed her eyes again, concentrating, feeling her way gently through Jack’s mind, bypassing familiar areas and places where the pathways were blocked to respect his privacy and... _oh!_ she thought, _that loneliness, it’s a... an echo from before, or an echo from... ohhh... oh_ Jack _, I’m so sorry, let me help_. And she used the technique the TARDIS had taught her for River; she smoothed the edges of the memories, so Jack could bear to look at them without collapsing.

And he woke up.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“It was an echo of some kind,” explained Evie to the others. The four of them were sitting around the table in the TARDIS kitchen, each with the TARDIS’ idea of comfort food. The Doctor and Jack were sharing a bowl of lemon custard across the table, fish fingers in front of each of them. Evie had a kronkburger fully loaded, with chips, and River was steadily munching her way through a bar of chocolate. “I don’t understand though; I’ve never seen this kind of connection outside of identical twins or clones.”

“Mmm...” agreed the Doctor, “and what is a former self but essentially a clone? I think his former self--”

“Can we just call him ‘Boe’, please, Doc, it’d be easier,” interrupted Jack, looking uncomfortable.

“Right, Boe. I think Boe is undergoing some sort of... ordeal, and Jack is picking up on it.”

“But I _was_ Boe,” said Jack, “and I don’t remember anything like that! Certainly not this far back, when I was still an active Time Agent. I mean, I was only about twenty-six when I left Luna, right, Evie?” She nodded, but her expression was abstracted, and he nudged her gently. “Evie?”

Evie looked at him, and there were tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack,” she said quietly, and met each of their eyes in turn, “But there _are_ gaps in your memory from that time. You _showed_ me. I think this is one of them. The Agency... or someone... interfered with-- _will_ interfere with... how do you time-travelling people _cope_ with the language?” She smiled a bit tearfully. “Anyway, Jack, there _are_ gaps, and at least one of them is from right after you left the University. And Jack...” she took a deep breath, and her voice went faint, “From what you showed me... you don’t remember _me_ after you left Luna either, not until we met again after you became Jack. I...” Evie’s voice broke on a sob, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in Jack’s room,” she muttered, and stumbled toward the door.

“I didn’t think,” River whispered, that blank half-smile she wore when she was processing emotional pain on her face. “Oh, _Evie_ , I didn’t think.” She made as if to follow the younger girl, but the Doctor put his hand on hers and she stopped.

The Doctor looked stricken, and his hearts hurt. “I didn’t think either,” he admitted, “I was more concerned with the timey-wimey than the... the humanity of it.”

“Of _what_? Doctor, she’s hurting, Evie’s _hurting_ , and it involves me and I don’t understand. I need to help her. Help me help her, _please_.” Jack was almost in tears with distress and the Doctor and River took his hands across the table.

“If we find youn-- Boe, and we rescue him,” River said softly, not meeting his eyes, “we have to make a choice. Does he forget and become the Jack we know? Or does he remember all he’s been through and grow into a different person, maybe never meet the Doctor and Rose and... well...” she spread her hands and looked him in the face, her green eyes bright with tears. “For me and the Doctor it’s simple... our loyalty is to _you_ , the Jack we know and love and trust.”

“With the added bonus of preserving the timeline,” put in the Doctor, “So we can justify it to ourselves.”

River nodded. “But for Evie - what she just realised - is that either way, she loses one of you. And she loves you both.”

Jack stared at one and then the other of his friends, appalled. His mouth opened as if to say something, then closed, then opened again. “Then it’s not our decision, is it?” he said finally, “It’s his. He has to be the one to make the choice.” He withdrew his hands from theirs and stood up. “I’ll go to Evie,” he said heavily, “Let me know when we have to go.” And he walked out of the room, looking like a man on his way to his own execution.

He remembered what a selfish bastard he had been at that age.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was going to be adventure. But the hurt/comfort urge is just too strong to resist


	3. Comfort

When Jack entered the room the TARDIS kept for him, Evie was lying curled up on the bed, facing away from the door. Aside from a tiny tremor in her shoulders, she lay terribly still. Jack crawled into bed and gathered her into the circle of his body, wrapping an arm around her waist and just holding her until the trembling abated. “Now I know why I’m here, Jack,” she whispered, so quietly he almost didn’t hear, “They want me to wipe his memory to preserve the timeline.” This was said with a sort of bitter venom that he’d never heard from her before, and certainly not aimed at any of her friends. “I won’t do it. I love you, Jack, but I won’t... I won’t destroy another person’s mind, not even for you.”

“You won’t have to, Evie,” Jack murmured into her hair. “The Doctor’s not above manipulating you that way and neither is River. I love them, but I _know_ them, and you’re right; that may have been in their minds... but only as a backup plan. They would not knowingly hurt you unless they felt they had no other choice, and they’re sitting out there feeling devastated that they might have.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck, wanting the closeness. “It has to be _his_ decision, Evie. Boe’s. And if he decides to forget, I can do it for him. It doesn’t have to be you.”

And then he held her while they both wept.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

River had that expression on her face - the one from the day she kissed him in Stormcage and he ran away. The blank and frozen half-smile that was more like a grimace, and said louder than words that she was turning all her resources inward to process something painful to her.

The Doctor _hated_ that expression, and he was willing to do almost anything to wipe it from her face. He stood, still holding her hand, and drew her to her feet. “I’m sorry, my River. I--”

“Hush, my love,” River murmured, focusing, and kissed him. “We didn’t mean to hurt her, and Jack will make her understand that. But it will be hard for her.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, more lingeringly this time. “Come on, Sweetie; let’s take this in the other room. Sexy can take us where we need to be.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“Jack,” Evie said softly a few minutes later, no longer crying but still facing away, curled up in his embrace, “I need... I... make love with me. Please?” He was so quiet that for a moment she thought he had fallen asleep, but then she felt him nuzzling her neck, brushing away the tears he had left there, and she sighed and wiggled closer. His groan was almost inaudible but she could feel the vibration through her skin, and then she was distracted from it by the hand at her waist ghosting slowly up under her vest to cup one breast. She arched into the touch and then turned over to look him in the face, reaching up to stroke his jaw. “I love you, Jack.”

His voice was hoarse. “I love you, Evie.” Then it was all quiet moans and sweet gentle kisses and warm bodies coming together as they looked into each other’s eyes.

And then they slept.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

The Doctor and River lay entwined in mind and in body after their initial passion was sated. There was often a sad undertone to their loving, the Doctor thought, the tragedy of the discontinuity of their timelines was always there in the background. But today, _this_ , it was even more so than usual, and he didn’t know whether it was some new spoiler she’d learned, or whether she still felt badly about hurting Evie, as he did.

He couldn’t ask, not aloud. He never could. Any more than he could say the words aloud, to tell her...

But right now, while their minds were one, perhaps... _River?_ he thought, _are you alright?_

_I will be, my love, always my love..._

_Always and completely, my River..._

And then they slept.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

_(blue-and-brown-boy, another-orange-girl, always loving... my thief and my child, always loving)_

The Doctor woke. He needed far less sleep than a human, even less than River. And although sex - _loving_ \- with River was wonderful and a comfort, sometimes he needed to be alone with _her,_ his Sexy Thing, so he got up, careful not to disturb his sleeping wife, and put on a dressing gown, went to the console room. “Hello, my old girl,” he said fondly, and stroked a panel on the console. “I wish you could tell me how this will work out,” he continued, “I’m great at the running and I’m brilliant with _things_ , but the human heart... it still confuses me. Over seven hundred years and I still don’t know what to do...”

“You could consider _talking_ to me instead of assuming I’ll do whatever you think is best, Doctor,” said Evie tartly from the doorway. “I’m not so feeble-minded - for all I’m a mere _human_ \- that I wouldn’t be able to understand.” She walked toward him, looking both annoyed and impatient at the same time, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Yes, well...” he began, “I didn’t really think I...” he scratched one cheek.

“You didn’t really think,” interrupted Evie, “that I was intelligent enough to grasp the importance of maintaining the timeline? Or did you think that I’d just do whatever you liked without question?”

He recovered himself. “Both, I’m afraid,” he said on a sigh. “Not that you’re stupid, you’re not, you’re perceptive and brave and kind and I... I’m laying it on a bit thick, am I?”

“A bit,” she agreed in a deceptively pleasant tone of voice, “but _I_ have to remember that however human you _look_ , you’re _not_ , and you think differently. Don’t you? It’s not just that you’re more intelligent, it’s a... a different moral code. That’s _my_ problem - my prejudice - to deal with though, not yours. And I think we _all_ made assumptions here today.” She smiled at him and he sighed again.

“Evie,” he said seriously, “I admire you. Your humanity, your intelligence, all of it. But you’re right; it did cross my mind that I’d have to force you to wipe J-- Boe’s memory. Because I can’t do it, not without taking more than just that small slice of a week or so, and _that_ would destroy the timeline as much as leaving his memory intact would. I don’t have that kind of fine control... you saw that yourself when you saw River’s memories. And if Sexy tried it, well... she’d kill him. Timeline aside, I don’t want that - _any_ of that - to happen to my friend Jack.” _He looks tired and sad_ , Evie thought, _whatever that means for him._

“I’ve been thinking about it since I realised why I’m here,” Evie said, and was surprised by the impression of _negation_ she received from the TARDIS, even as the Doctor shook his head.

“No,” he said, “You’re here because you are needed, or because you need to be. The particulars aren’t important to _her_ \- the old girl.” He took her hands. “It’s not just because you have a delicate touch with memory in the human mind, Evie, it’s because you’re _you_. She likes you; she wouldn’t harm you intentionally.”

“Be that as it may, I won’t do it without his informed consent,” she said softly, “It’s unethical. Jack says he will do it if he has to, but he wants Boe to make that choice. And I agree with him.” Her voice was steady, but she had tears shining in her blue eyes, and the Doctor’s hearts ached for her. _This brave little_ _human_ , he thought, _loving both of them and refusing to hurt one for the sake of the other. She’s done so much for me and mine, out of no other motivation than friendship. I can’t force that choice. All I can do is hope that Boe is selfless enough to make the_ right _choice._

“I would expect nothing less from you, Evie,” he said simply, and kissed her on the forehead, “And I am proud to call you my friend.”


	4. Preparations

“Is Evie alright?” River asked the Doctor sleepily as he went back to their room. He nodded, bemused, and she smiled at him. “You’ve that shocked look on your face, my love, the one that says a human has surprised you.”

“She’s a rare one, River, even for her time and her abilities. Let’s see...” He began ticking things off on his fingers as he spoke, “She told me off for assuming she was weak-minded and ‘merely human’. She admitted to a prejudice about non-humans and says she’s working on it. She informed me in no uncertain terms that she would _not_ tinker with Boe’s memories without his explicit informed consent - and that gave me a bit of a shock I can tell you, given our conversation along those lines back before, when I... you know, with your mind, and you... and then we... right, well, anyway - and why do I feel like she’s patted me on the head and told me to be a good little Time Tot and run out and play while mummy takes care of things?” His voice was plaintive and River hid a smirk.

“Because she didn’t give into your otherworldly charms, my love,” she told him cheekily, and kissed him. “Now, let’s go rescue that boy.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

“What do you mean you can’t come with us?” Evie demanded, looking up at Jack with her hands fisted on her hips.

He smiled down at her. God, but she was cute, this tiny little person with the big huge heart, who finally trusted him enough to show him the side of her that was not all sweetness and gentleness. _Fierce,_ he decided, _that’s the word to describe her_. He realised he’d better not say any of that aloud though, or she’d probably kick his arse. In her sweet and gentle way of course.

“I don’t really understand it completely myself, Evie,” Jack said, “Because I’m ‘not Time-Lordy enough in spite of being a complicated event in space-time’.” The air quotes he used elicited an exasperated chuckle from them both and a wave of warm amusement from the TARDIS. “I guess if I touch him - Boe - it’ll blow up the universe or something.”

“More like _implode_ really,” said the Doctor from the open doorway, “Or maybe ‘rip a hole in’. And I only said it _might_ ,” he went on with a slight whinge to his voice, “We don’t really know, because Jack is unique - timelines converge on him in very strange ways. Should be safe once we’ve got Boe in _here_ though,” he said, giving the door frame a quick kiss, “Because the Old Girl isn’t really _in_ space-time, you see? No, you don’t see, you can’t, because you’re--”

“--Only human.” Jack and Evie chorused, and Evie continued. “That’s really rude, you know, Doctor, by human standards,” but she smiled at him as she said it.

“Could be worse,” Jack put in, “At least he’s not calling us ‘stupid apes’ anymore.”

The Doctor winced. “Yes, well,” he said uncomfortably, “my ninth self was... rough around the edges. Not a polished gentleman like me.” He smoothed his bow tie. “Where’s my hat?”

“Don’t even think about wearing a hat, Sweetie,” called River from the other room, “I’ll shoot it off your head before we even leave the TARDIS.”

Evie giggled at the shocked expression on the Doctor’s face. “You _wouldn’t!_ ” he gasped, “Sexy wouldn’t let you!”

“Oh, wouldn’t she?” asked River as she ducked under his arm to enter the room, “Care to bet?”

Evie noticed that River had a disintegrator pistol at each hip, and suddenly the flirty banter wasn’t cute and funny anymore; it was a coping mechanism, a way to steady the nerves. She gulped a bit, and said softly, “If Jack can’t go for fear he’ll touch Boe and rip a hole in the universe, and River is...” she gestured at the older woman’s guns, “...And the Doctor has that screwdriver thingy, then what could you possibly need _me_ for? I can’t fight, not really, and I’m hardly infiltrator material...”

River smiled at her. “Evie,” she said gently, “Boe is probably in a bad situation, and yes, the Doctor and I are best equipped to deal with that. But he doesn’t _know_ us. He might not even come with us. He knows and trusts _you_ though.” She put her arms around Evie and kissed her. “You are more important than you know.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“I hope I didn’t scare you, Evie,” said River a few minutes later as the Doctor and Jack went to investigate something sparking under the console, “But it’s likely to be bad, the situation we find Boe in. Anything short of death, really, because...”

“Because if he died, Jack would what? Disappear?” Evie shook her head. “I know it’ll be awful, River, but I’ll have to handle it. I can do it.”

River gave her a measuring look, smiled. “I think you can,” she said, “and that surprises me a little. I’ve always liked you, Evie, but I’ve come to realize there’s a lot more to you than what you show the world. I admire that. Come on; let’s go see what those boys are up to.”

River and Evie laughed as they arrived under the console, because the Doctor and Jack looked like just that - a couple of little children with their heads together tinkering with an engine. That the engine was capable of deliberately encouraging them was rather beside the point, thought Evie. “Boys and their toys,” River snickered, and wrapped her arms around the Doctor’s waist from behind, wiggled a bit. He stood up abruptly and rapped his head on the underside of the console.

“Ow,” he pouted at her, moving hastily away, “Was that really necessary, River?”

“What, for you to hit your head? No, I don’t think it was,” River said, considering, “But then if you _will_ stand bolt upright the moment I touch you, then...” She spread her hands. “Well, I can’t be held responsible, can I?” She - the only word Evie could think of was _prowl_ \- prowled toward the Doctor, practically purring, “Would you like me to kiss it better, my love? I’d be happy to...” and Evie decided that maybe flirting as a deliberate coping mechanism was perfectly understandable after all.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

The Doctor was watchful from his station at the console. He trusted Evie - as much as he trusted most people - but he wasn’t at all sure she would be alright in the kind of situation they were likely to find youn-- Boe in. Jack had told him of her phobia, and he could see how unsure of her own abilities she was for himself. Still, she had fixed River’s memory terrors, and for all she looked like a child, she was older than most of his companions had been over the years. But she also took offense at his natural judgment about her, so he watched. And fretted.

River was strapping on her kit - the cargo vest she wore with any number of useful things in it - torches, first aid supplies, scanners, all manner of things, because you never knew. She was fairly sure that she and the Doctor would be fine - and not in the way they usually defined the word, which meant _not-fine-but-shut-up-and-let-me-deal-with-it-my-own-way_ \- she was sure _they_ would be fine, but she was worried about Evie. The younger woman was a lot tougher than she looked, true, but that wasn’t saying much; Evie looked about as tough as an Earth hummingbird. And so she watched. And fretted.

“I hate this,” Jack fretted, and Evie murmured into his ear that she’d be fine, truly, his friends would take care of her, all she had to do was keep her head and she would be fine, stop _worrying_ , Jack. “But what if...” and she put a finger to his lips, then slid her hands into his hair to brush his temples, kissing him and _showing_ him within his mind her confidence that she’d be fine. But he still fretted.

And then the Cloister Bell gonged once, indicating their arrival at the labyrinthine base of the Uvodni Hive.


	5. Rescue

“That mild prejudice against non-humans that you are working so admirably to defeat, Evie,” murmured the Doctor in her ear just before they left the police box, “It may yet serve you well here. The Uvodni are not nice people as a species, although individuals can be honourable.”

“I didn’t mean--” Evie protested, but he interrupted.

“I know. Just keep in mind that they view humans - especially children - as cannon fodder for their war with the Malakh. They may not realise you’re an adult because of your size.” He grinned at her. “Sometimes ** _I_** have trouble remembering you’re an adult, and you look Time Lord, so I should know better.”

“I look... Time Lord,” she said faintly, “And the Uvodni?”

“Look insectoid.”

“Oh,” Evie said without thinking, “then it shouldn’t be a problem, if they don’t look human I don’t expect them... to act... oh. I see.” She looked appalled. “Have I been doing that right along? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean...”

“That’s enough, my love,” put in River as Jack put his arm protectively around Evie. “You’ve gotten your point across.”

“My point?” said the Doctor, trying and failing to look innocent, “What point would that be then?”

“The same point I made to you an hour ago,” snapped Evie, “that we all make assumptions based on appearance. I look like a child to you and the Uvodni; you look like a human to me. Got it. Can we get _on_ with this?”

River laughed at the bemused expression on the Doctor’s face. “She’s comfortable enough to slap at you verbally when you deserve it, Sweetie,” she explained. “She’s ready. Let’s go.”

“Come back safe,” Jack said as lightly as he could manage, and kissed the top of Evie’s head.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

 _Cold,_ thought the man who called himself Boe, _How can I be so cold when it’s so hot in here?_

It was the last coherent thought he had for awhile.

_Cold, hot and cold, the Bugs don’t care. Door opens - is it time? Is now when they kill me? Wait._

“You’re too pretty to be a Bug,” he said to the woman with the curly hair, “and too...” he tried to make an hourglass shape with his hands but remembered as his shoulder screamed at him that he was chained to a wall. “Oooo... you’re pretty too,” he leered at the lanky male who appeared beside the female. “I think...” his awareness faded for a moment and he sagged against the chains. The shooting pain in his shoulder roused him, and he looked blearily at the two - no, _three_ \- three people in the doorway of the tiny room where the Bugs had locked him up. But the third person was someone he _knew_ , and she _couldn’t_ be here, so... _aha! They must be hallucinations,_ he thought. For a moment he was quite proud of his logic... and then the smallest of the three, the one who could _not_ really be there, ducked under the arm of the tallest and came toward him. “Oh no,” he said shakily, “Don’t come any closer, pretty Evie, because you’re not you, are you?” He shut his eyes and shuddered as she reached up to touch his face.

“Oh, Boe, what have they done to you?” Her voice was soft and her touch was _real_ , and she spoke again. “Come on, sweet Boe, we’ll get you out of here. Doctor, could you get him loose for me? He needs medical attention.” This last was clearly directed at the male humanoid behind her, who shrugged and pointed something small and brightly lit at him. The manacles chaining Boe’s arms to the wall loosened and opened, and he slumped to the floor as Evie (how _could_ she be here?) tried in vain to support his bulk.

The curly-haired woman holstered her pistols and stepped across the small space to help. Boe tried to take as much of his weight off of the women as possible, but he was terribly weak, and the taller woman was evidently strong enough to make up for it. He began to shake as she lowered him gently to the floor and pulled out a scanner, pressing buttons and waving it over him. “Broken collarbone,” she said clinically, “and three cracked ribs. Assorted contusions and bruises, and that nasty cut has gotten infected with... something. I’m sorry” she told Boe, “but this is going to hurt.” She pressed something firmly against his injured shoulder and everything went gray for a moment before he recovered himself. When he came to, the woman was wrapping his arm tightly to his side and Evie was smoothing back his hair and murmuring at him to please wake up, hang on Boe, we’ll get you out of here.

“Thanksh,” he said, and missed the look of concern that passed between them at his slurring of the word. He tried to sit up and the curly-ha-- “I can’t jusht call you ‘curly-haired woman’, what’sh your name, gorgeoush?” She smiled at him and gently laid him back down on the floor... and that was when everything faded to gray again, all the way to black this time.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“Blood loss and infection causing fever and delirium?” asked Evie in as level a tone as she could manage. _Dammit_ , she thought, _keep it together, Evie, not the time to fall apart_. But the back of her mind was shouting her that it was dark and close in here, and she was hanging on to her calm by the thinnest of threads. She thought that only the fact that she could see in the light from the open door was keeping her from having a full-on panic attack.

River nodded. “Probably,” she said, “so let’s get him to where he’s safe.” She stood, lifting Boe’s limp body with no sign of strain, and transferred him to the Doctor. “In case we need my guns, Sweetie,” she said, “you can use _your_ best weapon while you’re carrying him.”

The Doctor grinned at her, and winked. “Shouldn’t like that. Kinda do a bit.” River kissed him over Boe’s prone form.

“Um, not to interrupt,” ventured Evie after a few minutes of this, “but could we get _out_ of here? Please?” _Because if it doesn’t happen soon, I’m going to start screaming,_ she thought, _and I don’t know if I can stop..._

They broke the kiss to look at her. “Right, yes, sorry, danger you know, it... right.” The Doctor seemed a bit flustered as he shifted Boe into a fireman’s carry. River shot an apologetic look at Evie. “Right then!” said the Doctor, ignoring the elbow to the ribs his wife gave him, “Let’s go”.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

In spite of the danger, Evie found herself relaxing once they were out of the tiny cell and in the corridor. Bless, she could _see_ clearly, and that was all she needed to regain her confidence. Oh, she knew there was still the potential for major trouble, with the Uvodni and the... what had the Doctor called them? Oh yes, _Slabs_... the Slabs they used as slave-soldiers. And apparently there were a couple of corrupt humans in their employ over the years. So although they crept stealthily through the maze-like corridors of the Uvodni Hive, it all felt very unreal, as though they were playing one of those cooperative virtual reality games where one _knew_ that one was safe regardless of the in-game ‘danger’.

So it took her by surprise when they were ambushed within sight of the TARDIS, and Evie cursed herself silently for her lack of attention. She tried to fight - she wasn’t _completely_ helpless after all - but River shouted at her to run, and she followed the Doctor to the blue box as fast as she could. He set Boe gently down just inside the door, and said in a low, urgent tone, “Evie, you get in, take care of Boe. Jack’s on his way out. _Do not come out_. Please.” He held her gaze until she nodded, then kissed her on the forehead and ran back out, sonic screwdriver in hand. Jack followed at a run, pausing to kiss her hard on the lips and sparing only a glance for Boe on the floor.

And he shut the door behind him.


	6. Healing

By the time the three of them got back inside the TARDIS about ten minutes later, Evie had improvised a stretcher and dragged Boe into the medical bay, although she was unable to get him on the exam table. She looked up as the others entered. “Enjoy yourselves? Anyone hurt?” Her voice was sharp and contentious, and they all ignored the tone and shook their heads. “Good,” she said shortly, “then you can help me get him up on that table.” Jack moved toward her but she shook her head. “Not you,” she said, “Not yet. I want to make sure he's okay before we go inviting tears in the fabric of time and space. And shut up, Doctor,” she snapped without looking at him as he began to protest, “You said you thought it _should_ be safe in here, and that’s lovely, but why risk it?” He shut his mouth and moved to lift Boe onto the table himself.

Having accomplished this, he sidled over to Jack as River and Evie began to run the medical scanner over Boe. “Is she angry with me?” he asked in a low and almost frightened tone.

Jack shook his head, not taking his eyes off the women working on... _Boe_ , he thought, _you_ have _to think of him as Boe_. “She was worried about us out there, she’s worried about Boe now, and you almost questioned her medical judgment. If you do _that_ , she’ll kick your ass. Nicely.”

“Good to know,” the Doctor said, and Jack flashed him a quick grin. Then they edged toward the table together, listening to Evie catalog Boe’s injuries in what the Doctor thought was an astonishingly clinical tone of voice.

“Looks like you found it all with the hand-held scanner, River,” said Evie approvingly, and River nodded. “Let’s see... broken left clavicle - a clean break and a nice splint job - and three cracked ribs on that side. Lots of bruises and scrapes; they weren’t gentle but it looks more like he’s been beaten up than deliberately tortured. The worst of it is that... cut? It’s right over the fracture, like someone grabbed him with something big and sharp. And - _ugh!_ \- either dirty or toxic to humans. Or both. You gave him a broad-spectrum antibiotic?” River nodded again. Evie took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said resolutely, “let’s wake him up and find out what happened.”

“Wait a minute before you wake him,” said Jack hoarsely, “Please?” Evie nodded and turned to him with a questioning look on her face. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, buried his face in the curve of her neck, and just held on. “Evie, I want you to know, in case this... changes things,” he whispered into her hair, “Changes _me_. Evie, I... mmph--” The rest of it was muffled as she threw her arms around his neck and fastened her lips to his. The kiss was desperate and terrified and resigned to fate all at the same time, and Evie clutched at the fabric of Jack’s shirt as though it were a lifeline. And there they stood, Evie’s legs around Jack’s waist and her fingers fisted in his shirt back, snogging for all they were worth, when they were interrupted.

“OK,” said the voice from the exam table, “Could someone tell me where I am and what the hell is going on?”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

There was some confusion as everyone tried to explain at once - without spoilers - and finally Boe held up his good hand. “Look,” he said tiredly, running the hand over his face, “Can we take it one at a time?” He looked around at them. “I see one person I know but who shouldn’t be here, one I _should_ know since he’s a dead ringer for me, and two very _interesting_ people I don’t know but who seem to have saved my life. Um, thanks. But why?” His voice was plaintive even as he gave the two he didn’t know that sexually appraising look that they _all_ knew he’d perfected long ago.

“Spoilers,” they chorused, and the curly-haired woman continued, “We can’t tell you all the details because we’re from your future, you’re a Time Agent so you understand that.” She smiled at him. “So let’s see...” she closed her eyes for a moment. “Alright, I’m River Song, and yes,” she held up one hand to stop him interrupting, “I’m fully aware that you’ve been told I killed the Doctor, but suffice it to say that the truth is far more complicated than that. Because that’s the Doctor, there.” She pointed, and the lanky young man - _Time Lord_ \- wiggled his fingers in a little wave. Boe gulped a little and the cur-- _River_ spoke again, “The good looking gentleman over there is the um, future you, and yes, it _is_ strange that you can be here together, but we’re in a ship that is irrelevant to time and space, aren’t we, Sexy?” She smiled up at the ceiling of the room and Boe felt a warm sensation that his psychic training told him was agreement, along with a headache, coming from... from the ship? He held his hand up again.

“OK, wait. You’re the... the infamous River Song,” he said, and she winced. “Sorry. And the kid over there is really a thousand-year-old alien who is supposed to be dead, and _he_ ,” here he pointed at Jack, “is me, from what? Ten years in the future, going by his looks.” The older Boe remained deadpan at this, so he figured he wasn’t too far off. “And Evie is... wait,” he said, looking at Evie, “You look exactly the same as you did six months ago when I left Luna, just before the meteor strike.” She shuddered, but she smiled at him.

“I am. I mean, I am that Evie. Oh, _stop_ that, Doctor,” she snapped at the alien, startling Boe. Evie _never_ snapped. “I’m not going to say anything um... spoilery. Anyway, Boe, yes, we came to rescue you, because the ship - her name is Sexy - she saw you were in trouble, and if you died in that Uvodni Hive, then her old friend Jack here,” she put a hand on Jack’s arm, “would never come to be, you see?” She shot a look of mingled triumph and annoyance at the Doctor, who shrugged apologetically.

Boe took a deep breath, and winced. That had _hurt_. “OK,” he said, “Thanks. Now, I need to think this through, because with all the crap you’re not allowed to tell me I’m missing something important.” He struggled to sit up and the Doctor murmured something into the air. The top half of the exam table lifted until it was a large chair and Boe could see them all comfortably.

Evie reached out and brushed his hair back. “Will you let me take care of you while you think, Boe?” she asked, her voice quiet. “You’re in considerable pain.” She smiled at him.

Boe smiled back. “You can take care of me any way you want to, Evie. Any time.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “At least he already knows this one,” he muttered, and Jack grinned at him and headed for the door.

“Where are you going, Jack?” asked Evie, in a tone Jack couldn’t interpret. Surely it couldn’t be _fear_. He gestured at the door and muttered something about privacy, and Evie’s face fell. “I’d hoped you’d stay in case I need... support,” she said, and he stared at her until River nudged him.

“Dark and confined spaces in that Uvodni Hive, Jack,” she said quietly, and light dawned. _Oh,_ he thought, _of course, she’ll see what happened in his mind and..._

“I’ll stay,” he said simply as River and the Doctor left the room and shut the door.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“Right, Boe, we’ve done this before, okay? I’ll put my hands on your temples, and--”

“You shouldn’t have to see this, Evie. It’s dark and ugly and violent, and you’re... you shouldn’t have to see me like this.” His voice was soft, and there were tears in his eyes.

Evie took a deep breath. “I’ve seen worse than beatings, Boe. I...” she hesitated, looking up and behind her at Jack, searching his face for permission. He nodded once, very slightly. “I’ve seen people die. I’ve seen people kill. I’ve seen...” her voice caught and she tried again. “I’ve seen a man have to sacrifice his own blood kin - a _child_ \- to save the other children of his adoptive planet. I can handle it.” She felt Jack squeeze her shoulder, and Boe squeeze her hand, and took the latter as permission. Her hands moved to his temples and she closed her eyes.

_The pain, that was the worst of it, the pain as the Bug grabbed him by one shoulder with its long sharp pincer and dragged him along the corridor. When it tossed him inside the tiny room he heard the bone snap and he knew nothing more... He opened his eyes but it was dark and his shoulder screamed with pain. His arms were out to his sides and above his head and when he tried to move them there was a clanking noise and the pain again and it all went black once more._

_He’d lost all sense of time... he would wake, someone would open the door and hit him a few times while asking him questions in a language he didn’t know, and he would pass out again. The part of his mind that remained rational knew it had only been a couple of days at most, because they gave him no water or food but he was still alive. But the pain was_ endless _and he had no way of judging the time and the door opened again and it was_ them _\- Evie and River Song and the Doctor - and now he was safe here, safe with them, and he knew... he knew..._

Boe pulled his head away, gasping for breath, and saw the tears on Evie’s cheeks. They matched his own. But he _knew_ now, knew what they wanted him to do, and he was afraid. “You don’t remember this, do you?” he asked Jack, his voice hoarse. Jack shook his head and damn if there weren’t tears in his eyes too. Somehow, that made Boe feel better; if... what he was about to do... if it would make him into the kind of person who would understand all _this_ , and weep for it, then maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. He closed his eyes.

“Tell me what I have to do.”


	7. Love

“Tell me what I have to do,” Boe said, and it broke Jack’s heart. He remembered _being_ this boy, he remembered this boy being a selfish ass, and yet here they were, the boy in question putting himself trustingly into their hands, even though he must be terrified. Evie’s calming influence, Jack supposed, and it made him feel small and insignificant by comparison. He swallowed convulsively against the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat and reached out to place his hand on the younger man’s good shoulder.

Boe shrank back into the exam chair as he exclaimed, “Wait!” and Jack let his hand fall to his side, feeling deflated. But Boe wasn’t finished. “Is it safe for you to touch me?” he asked. “I mean, is the universe going to explode or something if you do?”

“It’s more like _implode_ , or maybe _rip a hole in_ ,” said the Doctor’s voice from the doorway, “We’ve been over this, and... and no, it won’t, not in here. Irrelevant to time and space, aren’t you, dear?” he asked rhetorically, and patted the doorframe fondly.

“Stop that,” said River severely, shoving him gently out of the doorway and striding into the room, “and don’t give me that look, my love, you’re deliberately playing the unfathomable alien and now is not the time. Evie and Jack know you too well to fall for it and Boe is scared and rightly so. No need to frighten him further.” She reached the trio in the centre of the room and took Boe’s chin in her hand. “You are welcome here, Boe,” she said softly, looking him in the eyes, and kissed him briefly. “What my beloved said is true, although we went over it before you came aboard. Sexy won’t have to maintain a paradox for long. She can do it, and as Jack is a... special case, it may not apply.” Her voice sharpened as the Doctor opened his mouth and she spoke to him without looking away from Boe’s face. “I said _stop it_ , Sweetie; there’s no point in worrying about spoilers if he chooses to forget; you know that.”

“But he hasn’t chosen!” whinged the Doctor, scratching the back of his neck, “And if he doesn’t choose to forget you’ve given him spoilers.” He scratched one cheek.

“Oh, yes he has,” breathed River, and kissed Boe again, chastely. “Haven’t you?”

He nodded, shamefaced. “I don’t _want_ to remember.” Evie reached out and took his hand. “I know it means I’m a coward, but I...” he shuddered and Evie squeezed the hand gently.

“You’re not a coward,” said River in a matter-of-fact tone. “Having that level of trust in _anyone_ \- much less strangers - after what you’ve been through in the past fifteen years, that’s one of the bravest things I’ve ever been privileged to witness.”

“Does it have to be now?” Boe asked. “Could I have a few minutes?”

“You can have a few hours,” the Doctor said, “Maybe even a day. We’ve looked into it, and neither of the psychically active of us can wipe a week or so without either missing something, or doing you some damage. And that we do _not_ want to do. I think Jack has some pills that will do the trick though.” Jack nodded, and so did Boe.

“RetCon,” Boe said, “that’s what the Agency would use.” He relaxed a bit; this was a known quantity. “I had some, but the Bugs took it. I...” he looked at Evie pleadingly, “I won’t forget you, will I?”

“No, you won’t,” Jack put in, “Because I didn’t. You won’t remember _this_ bit - meeting her here - but you will remember her from Luna. I promise.” Now he did lay his hand gently on Boe’s good shoulder, and although everyone held their breath in anticipation of disaster for a moment, there was nothing there but a warm, comforting weight. Boe relaxed further.

“OK,” he said finally. “Doctor, River? Can I have some time alone with Evie and um... me? I mean... Jack?”

“Of course,” said River, and she and her husband slipped out of the room, hand in hand.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

“Seven hundred years and more, and I still can’t read humans like you can, River,” the Doctor sighed, “How did you know he would agree to forget?”

“He’d do anything for Evie, my love,” River said simply, brushing his hair back from his face and kissing him softly. “He loves her and he hasn’t Jack’s experience to temper that. And...” she said on a little sigh, “it wouldn’t really matter, because the Agency would wipe his memory when he got back if we didn’t do it now, you know they would. They _did_ , and further back than we’ll go. But Boe doesn’t realise that and neither does Evie. Jack knows, of course, but it’s in his own best interest - and _theirs_ , which may be more important to him at this point - to keep his mouth shut.” She kissed him again, more thoroughly this time, and murmured against his mouth, “At least this time we don’t have to worry about the spoilers, my love.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

“So, um, ‘spoilers’?” asked Boe awkwardly. Jack smiled at him.

“It’s a sort of code word they use to warn of potential foreknowledge,” he explained. “They make the Time Agency look like amateurs. But that’s not really what you want to talk about, is it? Want to take this somewhere more... homey than the medical bay?” He held out a hand to the younger man, who accepted it and used it to haul himself up, while Evie led the way to Jack’s room.

They settled Boe, propped him up on pillows of Jack’s large bed, and sat on either side of him, Jack holding his right hand and Evie checking the injuries on his left shoulder and side. Her fingers were soothing and Boe closed his eyes. He found it easier to talk if he didn’t have to look at Jack’s face anyway; Jack must despise him as a coward, no matter what River Song said. “I feel... oh _hell_.” He opened his eyes, looking miserable. “I’m going to do this; I have to. But you must think I’m...” he trailed off, not knowing what to say, because Jack was looking at him with something that actually looked like _admiration_ , and he had expected contempt. “What?”

“I...” Jack cleared his throat and freed his hand from Boe’s, saluted him without a trace of irony. “I am _honoured_ to have once been you.” He dropped the salute and kissed Boe full on the lips. “I remember myself at your age being a crass and selfish ass, which you are definitely _not_.” Evie nodded.

“He’s right, Boe,” she said, her voice soft. “He probably wasn’t nearly as bad as he remembers, but you doing _this_... it’s exceptional.” She leaned over him, careful not to jar his injured arm, and kissed him, licking and nibbling at his mouth until he opened it to let her explore. “So amazing, Boe,” she whispered into his mouth, “so very brave.” He arched his back, instinctively seeking contact somewhere - _anywhere_ \- other than only his lips, and cried out in pain as the cracked ribs twinged. “Lie back, Boe,” Evie told him and gave him an impish little smile. “As your doctor, I’m going to prescribe bed rest. You just let me do all the work.”

“And me,” Jack said from behind her, his blue eyes dark, “if you’re interested.”

“If I’m... oh hell yeah.”

And so Jack and Evie made love to Boe, comforting him with their touch, until the time came for him to forget.


	8. Goodbyes

The mood in the TARDIS was subdued; even Sexy herself seemed to be flying carefully, and she finally spoke to the four people in her console room.

_(sorrow, resignation)_

“It’s alright, Old Girl,” whispered the Doctor from his jump seat, patting her console. “It wasn’t your fault and it had to be done.” He sounded close to tears and his wife put her arms around his shoulders. Evie looked over from where she stood with Jack’s warm hand holding hers tightly; she was startled to see an expression of incredible _guilt_ on the Doctor’s face. _Poor man_ , she thought, and then laughed silently at herself. _Okay, so I can think of him as a_ man _, even knowing he’s not_ human _... guess I’ve learned something..._

River looked across the console and nodded solemnly, and only then did Evie realise she’d said that last bit aloud. River smiled a bit sadly and whispered in the Doctor’s ear. He shook his head in negation, but then looked thoughtful. “Evie? Jack?” he said tentatively, his voice still scratchy. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Evie said on a sigh, “but I’ll miss him. And now I suppose I know why Sexy brought me along, to gain his trust and to learn a few things myself.”

“And to teach me similar things, maybe,” said the Doctor wryly. He smiled at her, although his eyes still looked infinitely sad. “Jack...”

“I’m alright,” said Jack in a very not-alright voice that seemed a poor attempt at _casual._ “You know, the usual... guilt, pain, angst.” He smiled down at Evie and the smile almost reached his eyes. “But at least this time I’m not lonely too.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

He was a handsome man, blue eyes, dark hair, but he looked a bit vacuous, and his appearance was marred by the sling cradling his left arm and the bruises on his face. When they took him down to Medical, they found that he also had a neatly bandaged gash in the left shoulder and his ribs had been taped up. Tucked into the sling they found a note - written on 21st century _paper_ of all things, unless the medi-doc missed his guess - that explained it all (in a vague Time Agency way). It read:

_This man is one of your Agents, and he is under the effects of a high dose of RetCon (one week personal durational time). I have returned him to a time earlier than his own 5125-5132 durational with the Agency in an effort to avoid a my-own-grandpa paradox. He can be reintegrated to the Agency in 5133, under the name Captain Jack Harkness._

_Signed,_

_Jack Harkness, Captain, Time Agency_

_5133 - xxxx, durational_

The medi-doc sighed and called for the Agency Chancellor. He wasn’t programmed for this sort of thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was aiming for adventure, but ended up with angst anyway. It got away from me! Sorry about that, folks Hope you enjoy it in spite of that...


End file.
